In Chlumec nad Cidlinou, a new theater stage was opened today

Chlumec nad Cidlinou - A new theater scene has been operating since this morning in Chlumec nad Cidlinou in the Hradec region. The new theater, named Klicpera's House, was created by renovating the Panorama cinema at a cost of approximately 33 million crowns. The new hall, which provides seating for 230 spectators, can also function as a venue for lectures, concerts, or film screenings, said the mayor of Chlumec nad Cidlinou, Miroslav Uchytil, to ČTK.
"In addition to the repairs, we focused on technological facilities, such as sound and lighting systems, which cost 6.5 million crowns," Uchytil said. The new building also features a small hall, refreshments, and spaces for local amateur actors from the Klicpera theater group.
Today's opening of the theater was accompanied by a cultural program, with a character of the dramatist Václav Kliment Klicpera appearing in a procession from the square to the theater tent; Klicpera was born in Chlumec in November 1792. Klicpera, who died in Prague in September 1859, wrote nearly sixty plays during his life, including Hadrian of Rome and The Magic Hat.
According to Uchytil, Chlumec has long sought the construction of a theater hall; for example, in the 1950s, people raised one million crowns for the construction of a booth, but the value of the collection was devalued by a currency reform, and other attempts were also unsuccessful. People could contribute to the construction of the theater even now, and around 600,000 crowns have been collected in the foundation established to support the theater’s construction in Chlumec nad Cidlinou. Chlumec obtained approximately half of the funds needed for construction from the state budget.
In recent years, other towns in the Hradec Králové region have also been investing in the renovation or construction of new theater halls; for instance, this year workers are repairing and completing the theater building in Červený Kostelec in the Náchod region, which will cost more than 21 million crowns. Builders are also continuing the renovation of the Beseda studio in Hradec Králové. The Trutnov town hall is planning to build a new cultural and conference center, with the construction costing 300 million crowns, which could be completed in 2010.